During this heating season, around 170,000 households in Serbia will receive reduced electricity bills — about 100,000 more than last year, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović announced.
“In October, approximately 103,000 new households were granted the status of energy-vulnerable customers, which entitles them to lower electricity bills. A new measure this season allows about 95,000 pensioners with minimum pensions, who have electricity meters registered in their name, to receive a monthly discount of 1,000 dinars until the end of the heating season. They will also benefit from additional reductions for timely bill payments. For pensioners with average electricity consumption during winter, this means their bills could be reduced by almost one-third,” the minister explained.
The expanded number of citizens eligible for these benefits results from regulatory changes introduced by the government at the initiative of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Đedović Handanović said.
Between October and March, in addition to recipients of social welfare, child benefits, and disability assistance, citizens with veterans’ and war disability rights will also qualify for reduced electricity bills.
“For the first time, this category includes war veterans, military and civilian invalids, and family recipients of disability pensions. Our goal is to ensure that as many socially vulnerable citizens as possible who have a registered electricity meter can access these benefits. The process has been simplified — applications are submitted through local self-governments, while pensioners with minimum incomes will automatically qualify without applying,” she stated.
During the heating season, energy-vulnerable customers are exempt from the lowered consumption threshold between the blue and red tariff zones (1,600 to 1,200 kWh). Depending on the household size, these customers are entitled to electricity bill reductions for specific consumption levels, gas bill reductions from October to March, and 40–60% discounts on heating bills for each month of the heating season.
